Vegan Red Lentil Curry | Bites of Wellness

Vegan pink lentil curry is thick, creamy and really easy to make. This lentil curry with out coconut milk is made with easy pantry components and is made in a single pot with minimal steps. This cauliflower pink lentil curry has hidden greens and is delicate, adaptable and funds pleasant!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Straightforward to make – making this non-traditional lentil curry is very easy! Saute the onions, add the spices then add the remainder of the components and permit it to simmer on the range. Really easy! You received’t imagine how scrumptious all of it smells when cooking too!
• Easy, pantry components – you seemingly have every little thing you want to make this vegan lentil curry recipe proper now within the pantry and freezer. I like recipes like this as a result of they’re nice if you really feel like you don’t have anything available to make, you normally have the components for curry within the pantry.
• Versatile and adaptable – modify this curry primarily based on what you might have available and what you’re keen on. Maybe you’re keen on including contemporary ginger and garlic otherwise you need to add extra veggies or make it spicier. You possibly can simply make modifications primarily based in your preferences. It’s also possible to make this vegan lentil curry within the instantaneous pot or within the gradual cooker so even when you don’t really feel like turning on the range, you may make this curry!

Substances

• Onion – you should use pink onion, yellow onion or white onions to make this cauliflower lentil curry recipe. The onions assist to create the bottom taste for the dish. You can additionally add finely minced garlic
• Ginger – you should use contemporary ginger (peel and finely grated), freeze dried ginger (my private favourite) or dried floor ginger. The ginger provides a unique kind of spiciness to the curry with out overpowering it.
• Spices: Curry powder, turmeric, cumin, salt, garlic powder – these spices give the curry it’s distinctive taste. Use no matter kind of curry powder you like, my favourite is maduras curry powder. The added turmeric provides an earthy taste to the dish and in addition helps to chop the acidity within the tomatoes. Cumin provides a smoky taste and the garlic powder provides umami to the dish.
• Pink cut up lentils – pink cut up lentils are like pink lentils which have been cut up, which makes them very fast cooking. Pink lentils cook dinner in about 8-10 minutes and grow to be gentle and creamy when cooked. Pink lentils are nice in curries and soups since they cook dinner so shortly and break down to assist make the curry thick and creamy.
• Water – water is added to assist cook dinner the lentils. You can additionally use vegetable broth or hen broth so as to add much more taste.
• Frozen cauliflower rice – frozen cauliflower rice is very easy so as to add to this curry. Due to the form, the cauliflower rice simply melds into the curry, serving to so as to add bulk with out being detected. It’s an effective way to sneak in some added veggies. For those who don’t have frozen cauliflower rice, you may add frozen cauliflower florets or use contemporary cauliflower (florets or riced) however I like how straightforward it’s so as to add a bag of frozen cauliflower rice.
• Crushed tomatoes – I like utilizing crushed tomatoes in offers the tomato taste with out the feel. The tomatoes add an acidic chunk to the curry, which is calmed by the turmeric and the cashew cream (or coconut milk) that’s added on the finish.
• Soaked cashews – soaked cashews and water come collectively to make a cashew cream which is used to assist scale back the acid from the tomatoes and helps to mellow out the spice from the curry. The cashew cream additionally helps to make the curry wealthy and creamy and provides it a stupendous colour.  You should use coconut milk as a substitute right here if wanted.

make vegan pink lentil curry

Preheat a big pot over medium warmth.

Chop the onion and peel and chop the ginger. When the pot is scorching, spray with some avocado oil or olive oil spray and add the onion and ginger. Prepare dinner 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

Add the spices to the pot and stir nicely. Prepare dinner about 1 minute to toast the spices.

Rinse the lentils. Add the lentils, water, frozen cauliflower and crushed tomatoes to the pot with the onion combination. Stir nicely. Cowl the pot, flip the warmth as much as medium excessive and cook dinner for 12-Quarter-hour till the lentils are gentle and tender and staring to disintegrate. Test the lentils after about 8-10 minutes to stir.

Whereas the lentils are cooking, pour boiling water over the cashews and allow them to soak at the least 5 minutes. Drain the cashews and add them to a blender with ½ cup of contemporary water. Mix on excessive till clean.

When the lentils are gentle and achieved cooking, pour the cashew combination into the pot with the lentil curry. Stir nicely and serve scorching.

High ideas

• Pink cut up lentils cook dinner shortly which is what makes this pink lentil curry good for weeknight meals. For those who use common lentils, the curry will take longer to cook dinner (nearer to half-hour). 
• Prepare dinner the spices for 60 seconds or so earlier than including the liquid to barely toast the spices.
• If you discover the spices sticking to the underside of the pot, add about ½ cup of water to the pot to scrape down the underside earlier than including the remainder of the components. This helps to make sure that you get all the flavour off the underside of the pot.
• The longer you permit the lentils to cook dinner, the softer they get. They may start to interrupt down and provides the curry and even creamier texture when you allow them to simmer for 10-15 extra minutes.
• Because the cauliflower lentil curry cools, it is going to proceed to thicken because the lentils proceed to soak up extra of the liquid. If you will freeze the leftovers, let the curry cool fully and even in a single day within the fridge earlier than freezing.
• Turmeric stains wooden utensils. Turmeric will flip your wooden utensils yellow, so don’t use them until you don’t care about them altering colour. I like to recommend utilizing a stainless-steel spoon when making this recipe.

Different components so as to add

• Veggies: Pink bell peppers, contemporary spinach, contemporary kale, shredded carrots, frozen peas shredded candy potatoes.
• Spices: Pink pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, contemporary serrano chilis
• Different additions: Chickpeas, tofu, floor hen, floor turkey or cooked shrimp

serve cauliflower lentil curry

This lentil cauliflower curry is greatest served in an enormous bowl together with your favourite grain or flatbread. A few of my favorites methods to serve this are alongside of:

make instantaneous pot pink lentil curry

You may make this lentil curry recipe within the instantaneous pot very simply. Listed here are the steps:

• Put the moment pot on saute mode. Chop the onions and ginger. When the moment pot is scorching, spray with olive oil or avocado oil and add the onions and ginger. Prepare dinner for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the spices to the onion combination and cook dinner 1 minute.
• Add about ½ cup of water to the pot and scrape down the underside with a stainless-steel spoon or picket spoon you don’t care about (the turmeric and curry will stain the wooden). Scraping off any of the brown bits from the onions or spices helps to make sure you received’t get a burn discover.
• Add the rinsed lentils, the remainder of the water, cauliflower rice and crushed tomatoes to the moment pot. Prepare dinner on excessive strain for 3 minutes. Enable the pot to naturally launch at the least 5 minutes earlier than manually releasing the strain.
• Soak the cashews in boiling water for at the least 5 minutes whereas the curry is cooking. Drain the water and add the cashews to a excessive velocity blender with contemporary water. Mix on excessive till clean.
• When the strain has been launched, pour the cashew cream into the lentil curry within the instantaneous pot then stir nicely. Serve scorching.

Are you able to make pink lentil curry within the gradual cooker

Sure! This recipe is so good when made in a gradual cooker.

• All it’s important to do is dump all of the components in (apart from the cashews) and cook dinner on excessive for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
• Soak the cashews in boiling water for at the least 5 minutes whereas the curry is cooking. Drain the water and add the cashews to a excessive velocity blender with contemporary water. Mix on excessive till clean.
• When you find yourself able to serve, add the cashew cream to the gradual cooker and stir nicely. Serve scorching.

Frequent questions

Can you utilize curry paste?

For this recipe, I used curry powder as a result of I at all times have it available. If you wish to use curry paste as a substitute, you actually can! As a substitute of curry powder, use about 2-3 tablespoons of curry paste in it’s place.

Do it’s important to soak lentils earlier than cooking them?

In contrast to different legumes, you do not want to soak lentils earlier than cooking them. This implies which you could cook dinner lentils from dry in below half-hour. Cut up pink lentils (just like the lentils used on this vegan pink lentil curry) cook dinner up even sooner since they’ve been cut up which accelerates the cooking time.

I do recommend rinsing the lentils earlier than utilizing them although. Pink cut up lentils have a starchy exterior that I favor to clean away however when you overlook, it’s okay.

Are you able to double this recipe?

This recipe can simply be doubled if you wish to make it for meal prep or to feed a big crowd. This vegan pink lentil curry freezes nicely and can be nice for meal prep. It’s possible you’ll want so as to add 5 minutes to the cooking time as utilizing 2 luggage of frozen cauliflower rice will trigger it to take longer to return as much as a boil to cook dinner the lentils.

Storing leftovers

• Fridge: Retailer leftover cauliflower pink lentil curry within the fridge for as much as 5 days in an hermetic container.
• Freezer: Freeze leftover lentil curry for as much as 3 months in a freezer secure bag or container. Make sure you permit the curry to chill fully earlier than freezing, as it is going to proceed to get thicker and break down because the curry cools. I like to recommend storing within the fridge in a single day earlier than transferring to the freezer.
  • To make serving leftovers straightforward, I wish to freeze the curry in 1 cup parts utilizing Soupercubes. As soon as frozen, pop them out of the silicone mould and switch to a freezer secure bag. When you find yourself able to serve, you may pop the dice proper within the pot and cook dinner from frozen over medium low warmth coated till scorching (10-Quarter-hour).
• Reheat leftover pink lentil curry within the microwave for 2-3 minutes or on the range, coated over medium low warmth till heated by means of 5-7 minutes.

Substitutions

• Onion – use no matter onions you might have available – pink, yellow, white or you may even use shallots. For those who don’t have onion, you may merely omit.
• Contemporary ginger – contemporary ginger will be robust to maintain available (you may retailer it within the freezer) so I at all times maintain freeze dried ginger available as a substitute. This is very easy to make use of in recipes and straightforward to maintain within the spice drawer. For those who don’t have contemporary or freeze dried, you should use floor dried ginger (about 1 teaspoon).
• Spices – For those who don’t have curry powder, you should use curry paste as a substitute (2-3 tablespoons). For those who don’t have turmeric, merely omit it. For those who don’t have cumin, you may add smoked paprika or omit it. For those who don’t have garlic powder, you should use onion powder or dried garlic granules or just omit it.
• Pink cut up lentils – when you don’t have pink cut up lentils, you should use common lentils, however it would be best to improve the cooking time from 12-Quarter-hour coated to 15-20 minutes coated. Word that utilizing inexperienced or brown lentils received’t create the identical creamy consistency when you proceed to cook dinner them down.
• Crushed tomatoes – you should use diced tomatoes and even complete canned tomatoes that you simply crush (both by hand or with an immersion blender). I’ve not examined this with contemporary tomatoes.
• Cashews – when you don’t have cashews, you should use hemp hearts (which don’t must be soaked upfront) or you should use ½ a can of coconut milk. Make sure you shake the can vigorously earlier than opening.

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